Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie, narrator Hugh Fraser

Gordon Cloade did his family no favors. Yes, he showered them with money, but he made them entirely dependent on him. So, when he died in an air raid only weeks after marrying a new wife, all of his money went to her and his family had no idea how to cope. It might have been fine if the pliable Rosaleen had been on her own, but she has a brother who will not let her release any of the funds. 

Most of this story is getting to know the different characters, their problems, and how they approach Rosaleen for help. But then a man, who may or may not be Rosaleen's first husband, is killed, setting off the mystery.

Hercule isn't in the book much and the ending is a kick in the pants. 

Three stars

Hercule Poirot #27

Follows The Labours of Hercules

Followed by Mrs. McGinty's Dead

This book came out in 1948

Borrowed as an audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene

This book starts with a literal bang when Nancy and her friend, Helen Goulding, are trying to outrun a storm but, when their boat hits a log, they have to swim for it. They are saved by Laura Pembleton who mentions that she might need Nancy's help. She has new guardians and is wary of them

The couple is certainly a piece of work. The wife is rude and demanding, even before she meets Laura. The husband nearly drives Nancy and Helen off the road. Things get stranger from there. 

This book is somewhat disjointed with parts and characters popping up without rhyme or reason but it was still an interesting read. 

Three stars

Nancy Drew #3

Follows The Hidden Staircase

Followed by The Mystery at Lilac Inn

This book came out in 1930

ARC kindly provided by Dover Publications and Netgalley

Opinions are my own

The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

This book is made up of short chapters looking at how we can survive in our current world. Specifically, looking at it through the lens of the matsutake mushroom. This is a mushroom that grows where things have been destroyed and there are whole communities built around finding them. For me, the description of the communities was the best part of this book. 

It was an interesting collaboration of ethnography and anthropology. I didn't always understand the points the author was trying to make. I also thought the subtiled was misleading as this book wasn't particularly political.

Three stars

This book came out November 28, 2017

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove

Willow Stone used to spend summers with her godmother Sue on Little North Island. But when she was fifteen, the summers stopped. Now she's grown, and an organist and curious about Sue. But what she finds is not what she expects and it sends her back to the island. 

Now, she's trying to figure out a weird small town that has... dynamics. Plus, there are ghosts. Which I wasn't expecting.

Three stars

This book came out February 17, 2026

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene

Nancy is trying to relax and read a book but is having trouble concentrating. Luckily, she's interrupted by a knock on the door. Not so luckily, it's Nathan Gombet who is trying to get something from Carson Drew. Her father isn't home but, when he comes back, confirms that Gombet is someone that Nancy should avoid.

Luckily, she has a mystery to distract herself. There are a pair of elderly sisters who are concerned that their house is haunted. Nancy decides to stay at their house so she can experience what they are hearing. And it is certainly puzzling, but she is able to figure out what is happening in the end, leaving the sisters with a happy ending.

This book hasn't aged as well as the first one. I think it was just some of the language that made me realize how old these books are but I'm going to keep working my way through the series. 

Three stars

Nancy Drew #2

Follows The Secret of the Old Clock

Followed by The Bungalow Mystery

This book came out in 1930, rereleased June 16, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Dover Publications and Netgalley

Opinions are my own

Replaceable You by Mary Roach

I usually read Roach's books in hard copy but the audiobook was available sooner. I'm not sure if that contributed to my not enjoying this book as much as usual. Like in most of her books, Roach does a deep dive into a particular topic, this time in the ways that we enhance and recreate our own bodies. Some are practical ways like new hearts or intubation but there are also skin grafts, hair transplants, and plastic surgery that she explores. A lot of it was matter-of-fact but I was surprised to hear that one person told Roach that being intubated was a relief as it allowed her to breathe for the first time in awhile. 

Three stars

This book came out September 16, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

Harry has been asked to help a director who seems to be under a curse. At the same time, he's still dealing with the threat from the vampires. Although not all vampires since Thomas, a recurring character in this series, is the one to ask for his help. 

Harry will, of course, have a number of battles, will end up bruised and bloodied. But he will also come out of this book with some unexpected family. However, he will live to fight another day. 

Three stars

Dresden Files #6

Follows Death Masks

Followed by Dead Beat

This book came out August 3, 2004

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Ode to the Bones by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth Delaney and Tinkie are on the hunt for a missing farmer. Oscar had to foreclose on his family's farm and is now concerned that the young man, Danny, is missing. But is he missing just because he is ashamed to have lost the farm? Or is there something more sinister at work?
The actual mystery didn't take center stage as much as the plight of today's farmers. There are so many factors working against the people who love the land of the south and for more than just development. Yes, there is a developer who is not set up as the Big Bad as much as a general nuisance. 

The ending was a bit dramatic but does set us up for the series to continue.  

Three and a half stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #30

This book comes out May 26, 2026

Follows Doggone Bones

ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

The Hollow by Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser (Narrator)

Dr. John Christow has a varied romantic background. Now, at a weekend at his friends' Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell's house, known as The Hollow, he has his wife (Gerda), his girlfriend (Henrietta, an artist), and an ex, Veronica (moviestar). It's supposed to be a relaxing weekend away, but the romantic entanglements are going to create stress. It doesn't help that the nephew of the Angkatells, Edmund, is loafing around making eyes at Henrietta.

But tensions rise and John is dead. Henrietta is standing over him with a gun. It seems to be an open and shut case but Hercule Poirot is on site and working with Inspector Colquhoun to discover what really happened.

Three stars

Hercule Poirot #25

Follows Five Little Pigs

Followed by The Labours of Hercules

This  book came out in 1946

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers

They say you can't go home and Cassandra Fairfax is about to discover exactly how true that sentiment is. She's received a letter from her mentor, Chiron. She arrives in his living quarters above a bookstore to find him dead. She is the sole inheritor and left in a state of confusion. The split between Cassandra and Chiron was not amicable and they did not have a chance to  come back together. Now, she's back in a world she's been living on the fringes of for a number of years. 

Thought of as a child prodigy, Cassandra has not (legitimately) been in a bookshop for a long time. She is shocked that the river beneath it, the one that helps keep the bookshop running, is so low. The start is to bond with the bookshop and bring it back to life. The second is to find a bookseller. Third? Find out why so many people are so interested in the bookshop.

It took me awhile to get into this world and I'm not sure that it was fully put together. An interesting premise maybe not fully realized. If there were another book, it might build the world out better.

Three stars

This book came out November 28, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Death Masks by Jim Butcher with James Marsters (Narrator)

The war between the Red Court and the Council is raging. There is a possible end in sight if Harry will agree to battle mano-a-mano with the vampire's champion. But he still has to make a buck so when a priest from the Vatican is referred to him, Harry is interested. He's shocked to learn that the item that the priest is searching for is the Shroud of Turin. And if those aren't enough, he's pulled into the investigation of a headless, handless corpse. Then, there's the fact that Susan, his ex(?)-girlfriend is back in town.

There was SO MUCH going on in this book. It took me awhile to get into it and I wish we could have seen more of the "problem of the week" that was in this book but there was a lot of time spent on the overarching stories. 

Three stars

Dresden Files #5

Follows Summer Knight

Followed by Blood Rites

This book came out September 3, 2002

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

6:40 to Montreal by Eva Jurczyk, Allyson Morgan (Narrator)

The comparisons to an Agatha Christie novel are glaring. It starts with the narrators name, the title that is so close to the 4:50 to Paddington, and a snow storm that stops a train. 

 The narrator had a plan. Well, a couple of plans. Her husband has bought her a ticket to a train that has no cell service. She can ride it to Montrea  and then come home. Plenty of time for Agatha to write the five thousand words needed to follow up her best selling novel. She's going to use it for a different plan that the reader (listener) wont know for most of the book. Agatha purposely chose a seat that wasn't near anyone else. So she's surprised when Finch sits down next to her. He wants her seat and is determined to get it. So, Agatha moves. As she does, she notices that Cyan (sp?), her stalker/ex-something, is also on the train. That  would have been bad enough, but then the train stops. And someone dies.

We go back and forth between the past and the present and see how Agatha got to this place, what her plans really are for the train ride, and why this day is so important for her.

The beginning was a bit slow and the ending didn't make sense with the tone of the rest of the book, but I really enjoyed the middle.

Three stars

This book came out October 28, 2025

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

A Killer Wedding by Joan O'Leary

It's the wedding of the year; Gloria Beaufort's second grandson is getting married. To a school teacher. But it's going to be a production. Including Christine Red, a reporter from Bespoke Weddings. Yes, Christine stepped on her editor and mentor to get this job, but it's going to be worth it to see her life's ambition fulfilled.
And it's going to be a major event with everyone being flown to Ireland to stay in a picturesque castle. But the title of the book tells us that someone will die. At least one person. And that everyone's secrets will start to come out. 
With different characters and alternating timelines, there's a lot going on in this book.

Three stars

This book came out September 23, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher, narrator James Marsters

It's about a year after the previous book. Harry has been busier than usual. The ghosts of the city seem to be in a tizzy. And a young woman walks into his office, asking for help. She says she sees visions and that Harry is going to be the reason one outcome occurs versus another. He's been working with Michael, a knight of the Lord. And they'll have to keep working together in order to take down an old enemy who is now walking through their nightmares. 

Three stars

Dresden #3

Follows Fool Moon

Followed by Summer Knight

This book came out September 1, 2001

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie with narrator David Suchet

I get this story and the "Triangle at Rhodes" confused with each other. Both are Poirot on vacation with a glamorous woman, in this book, Arlena Stuart, who ends up dead. Both have a female confidante. The confidante in this one is a famous dressmaker who was the childhood friend of the dead woman's husband. In this story, the dead woman's husband has a daughter. His first wife was accused of murder and acquited. The second wife (the dead woman) was also accused of murder and acquited. However, Arlena was rather stupid and vain. She was also having a rather ill-concealed affair with a gentleman who was also on vacation at the Jolly Roger, Patrick Redfern. 

Three stars
Hercule Poirot #23

Follows One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Followed by Five Little Pigs

This book came out in 1941

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, narrator James Marsters

 Harry is still under a curse, he's still in Chicago, but he's trying harder to find work since his job with the Chicago police force hasn't been as lucrative since the first book in the series. His friend asks him about a particular rune but it's magic far beyond what she can control so Harry refuses to tell her, which is the right thing. But then he's pulled into a series of murders that look like they were committed by something like a wolf. It's bad enough that the FBI is in town to take the case. 

Three stars

The Dresden Files #2 

Follows Storm Front

Followed by Grave Peril

This book came out January 9, 2001

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

I read a few of the books in this series soon after the TV show came out but couldn't remember why I had stopped. I think that there is not quite the same sense of fun in the books. There are some funny parts, just a different humor. For this book, there were also a lot of, "I'm not going to make it" moments. A. Lot. 

But this is the book that introduces the readers to Harry Dresden, a wizard in contemporary Chicago. Technology and magic don't work well together so he's not exactly up to date with the latest trends but he muddles along as best he can. He's also trying to make a living. So when two dead bodies turn up with their hearts ripped out, Harry is on the case. 

Three stars

The Dresden Files #1 

Followed by Fool Moon

This book came out April 1, 2000

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer by Bellamy Rose

After the last book, Pomona has been trying to turn her life around. But only a little. You can't expect her to ride the subway, after all. She's starting a foundation to help underprivileged children. There are a lot of nerves surrounding her first gala. She has to prove that she's changed her life. Too bad it's not going well even before a body comes over the balcony. 

She's once again off to the races. And as much as she pretends she's working with Gabe, we get a lot of insight into the fact that she is very much still the pampered party girl that she started out as in the first book. She's growing but, ufda, as much time as has passed, it is slow. 

This ending made a little more sense and I thought the book was fairly clued without being overt about the person behind the death. 

Three stars

Pomona Afton #2
Follows Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder

This book comes out April 14, 2026

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander

I read the previous book in this series eleven years ago but was recently reminded that the Lady Emily series was one that I had enjoyed so I picked the series back up. I had forgotten about the alternating timelines... not one of my favorite plot devices. 

Emily has been summoned to Italy by her best frenemy, Emma. There is no love lost between them but Emma's father-in-law has been murdered, her husband has disappeared. Emily's husband is well known as an investigator and Emily is becoming no slouch herself. 

This murder is entwined with a romance from the 1500s and a family feud that is still ongoing. 

Three and a half stars

Lady Emily #7

This book came out 

Follows A Crimson Warning

Followed by Behind the Shattered Glass

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Hexes Go Well with Tequila by LeAnna Ehrsam

This book felt like a cozy fiction book with a random sex scene thrown in for... reasons?

Ursula Cambridge's relationship is failing. When a mysterious invitation appears, she decides to take up the offer to live in The Lost Souls House. Pretty quickly, she makes friends. One night, they get drunk on margaritas and decide to "hex" the people that have wronged them. Except that the hexes turn out to be real. 

There are also a number of sub-plots with a grumpy bachelor and his wayward niece, a friend of a friend who is running for mayor, and the man who is running against her on "family values" who is, not surprisingly, someone who doesn't hold those same values to himself. 

Three stars

The Lost Souls #1

Followed by Curses Dance with Bourbon

This book came out September 24, 2024

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own